Police In London ,Ont. Seize $24M In Assets HA Patch Robert Barletta Facing Charges Again.

[Greg Carr]

LONDON | News
Police seize $24M in assets, charge London, Ont. man as they tackle illegal gaming
CTVNewsLondon.ca

Published Thursday, July 30, 2020 1:54PM EDT
Last Updated Thursday, July 30, 2020 4:39PM EDT
Robert Barletta
Robert Barletta was among those arrested as part of Project Hobart. (Source: OPP)

LONDON, ONT. -- A London, Ont. man, who police say is a member of the Hell’s Angels, is facing more charges, as police seize $24 million in assets as part of a massive illegal gaming investigation.

Robert Barletta was arrested Wednesday and charged with money laundering and fraud (related to tax evasion) against the Government of Canada. Police say his tax evasion charges were also amended to reflect a greater taxable benefit.

In addition, four other people are facing charges of working for a criminal organization, bookmaking, proceeds of crime, money laundering and tax evasion, while three others are charged with money laundering and proceeds of crime.

Project Hobart II Charges (PDF)

Officers with 18 police agencies and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) executed four search warrants in London, Oakville, Toronto and Pickering. Other judicial warrants were executed at eight locations in London, Toronto, Welland and Thornbury resulting in the seizure and/or restraint of $24 million worth of assets including:

three residences and one vacant vacation property;
eight vehicles; including sports cars, a vintage automobile and one Harley Davidson motorcycle;
financial assets of three land/property development companies, including building lots in the Collingwood area; one of which has a $7-million newly-built house on it;
$82,590 CDN and $25,398 US in cash;
approximately seven kilograms of psilocybin and 0.5 kilogram of marijuana for a total value of $66,986
Camaro and Dodge SRT seized
Vehicles were seized by police on Wednesday, July 29, 2020 as part of Project Hobart II. (Source: OPP)

Last December, police say they broke up a multi-million dollar illegal gaming operation that was tied to a series of attempted murders, arsons, extortion threats, shootings and assaults.

Barletta was also charged at that time.

OPP launched Project Hobart as a result of an escalation of violence across Ontario and Quebec between Aug. 2017 and May 2018.

Their focus was on an illegal gaming organization allegedly controlled by members of the Hell’s Angels outlaw motorcycle gang.

At the time, 28 people were charged with 228 offences and police seized or restrained $12 million worth of worth of residential properties, luxury and vintage automobiles and motorcycles, off-road vehicles, cash, gold and silver bars and jewelry.

All eight accused are expected to answer to the charges in Brampton, Ont. on Sept. 17.
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ADDENDUM OF CHARGED PERSONS - PROJECT HOBART II
July 30, 2020 1
NAME AGE MUNICIPAL
RESIDENCE CHARGE
COURT
STATUS &
DATE
Douglas ADAMS 58 Thornbury • Laundering Proceeds of Crime CC 462.31(1)(a)
• Possession Property Obtained by Crime Over $5,000 CC 354(1)(a)
Released on
PTA.
First
Appearance
17Sept20
Robert BARLETTA 50 London • Laundering Proceeds of Crime CC 462.31(1)(a)
• Fraud Over $5,000 CC 380(1)(a)
• Possession Property Obtained by Crime Over $5,000 CC 354(1)(a)
Released on
PTA.
First
Appearance
17Sept20
Michael CURTIS 37 Collingwood • Laundering Proceeds of Crime CC 462.31(1)(a)
• Possession Property Obtained by Crime Over $5,000 CC 354(1)(a)
Released on
PTA.
First
Appearance
17Sept20
David ENGLISH 38 London • Book-Making – Control CC 202(1)(c)
• Book-Making – Record CC 202(1)(d)
• Book-Making – Engage CC 202(1)(e)
• Commission of offence for criminal organization CC 467.12
• Possession of a Schedule III substance for the purpose of Trafficking –
CDSA 5(2)
• Possessing cannabis for the purpose of selling – CA 10(2)
Released on
PTA.
First
Appearance
17Sept20

ADDENDUM OF CHARGED PERSONS - PROJECT HOBART II
July 30, 2020 2
Samouel KAFKAS 45 Pickering • Book-Making – Control CC 202(1)(c)
• Book-Making – Record CC 202(1)(d)
• Book-Making – Engage CC 202(1)(e)
• Commission of offence for criminal organization CC 467.12
Released on
PTA.
First Appearance
17Sept20
Stewart KO 44 Scarborough • Book-Making – Control CC 202(1)(c)
• Book-Making – Record CC 202(1)(d)
• Book-Making – Engage CC 202(1)(e)
• Commission of offence for criminal organization CC 467.12
Released on
PTA.
First Appearance
17Sept20
Tony PERILLO 53 Maple • Laundering Proceeds of Crime CC 462.31(1)(a)
• Possession Property Obtained by Crime Over $5,000 CC 354(1)(a)
Released on
PTA.
First Appearance
17Sept20
Eston SILVER 37 Oakville • Book-Making – Control CC 202(1)(c)
• Book-Making – Record CC 202(1)(d)
• Book-Making – Engage CC 202(1)(e)
• Commission of offence for criminal organization CC 467.12
• Laundering Proceeds of Crime CC 462.31(1)(a)
• Possession Property Obtained by Crime Over $5,000 CC 354(1)(a)
Released on
PTA.
First Appearance
17Sept20

https://london.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.5045611!/httpFile/file.pdf

https://london.ctvnews.ca/police-seize-24m-in-assets-charge-london-ont-man-as-they-tackle-illegal-gaming-1.5045554
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Local News
Suspected arson at cottage linked to alleged London biker prompted two-year police probe
Author of the article:Dale Carruthers, Randy Richmond
Publishing date:Jan 12, 2020 • Last Updated 6 months ago • 4 minute read

Robert Barletta (OPP supplied)
Article Sidebar

Article content
A suspected arson that destroyed a Blue Mountains vacation property linked to the former president of the London Hells Angels was the catalyst for a two-year police probe into a gambling ring that led to his arrest on guns, gambling and tax evasion charges, The Free Press has learned.

The Jan. 5, 2018, fire in Thornbury, a small town on Georgian Bay northwest of Collingwood, prompted police to launch Operation Hobart, an investigation into an alleged multimillion-dollar gambling operation that police contend was run by members of the Hells Angels and an alleged Toronto crime family, Staff Sgt. Anthony Renton, the head of the OPP’s biker enforcement unit, said.

Lorraine Explains: Are you in your rights to snub the cops during a traffic stop?

Property records show the now-destroyed luxury home and property at 363 Sunset Blvd., in Thornbury, belongs to Salvatrice Barletta, believed to be the mother of Robert Barletta, a founding member of the Hells Angels London chapter.

Barletta, 50, was one of 28 people charged with a combined 228 offences related to guns, gambling, participating in organized crime and tax evasion in the sweeping investigation that involved 17 law enforcement agencies including three police forces from Southwestern Ontario.

Held in custody since Dec. 13 when he was arrested aboard a plane at Pearson International Airport in Toronto, Barletta is scheduled to appear in a Brampton court Monday for a bail hearing.

The former London strip club owner is charged with three bookmaking offences, five firearms-related charges and tax evasion.


Habiba Kajan
Court documents show he’s jointly charged with Habiba Kajan, 43, for the gun charges, which include possession of a loaded handgun that had the serial number removed.

Investigators from Operation Hobart haven’t released the addresses of the homes or businesses searched, including five in London, but The Free Press confirmed the OPP raided Kajan’s house at 203 Commissioners Rd. on Dec. 12.

One week later, a late-night fire gutted the home, located on an upscale stretch west of the Highland Country Club.

London police ruled the blaze suspicious, just as the OPP did in the 2018 Thornbury fire, but no suspects have been arrested in either case, both of which remain open.

Investigations into both fires determined them to be “incendiary in nature,” a spokesperson for the Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal said.

There’s no way of knowing yet why the homes linked to Barletta may have been set on fire, Yves Lavigne, an outlaws biker analyst and author, said.

“We can speculate all day,” he said, but added, “I don’t believe in coincidences.”

Lavigne believes the killing of Hells Angels member Michael Deabauta-Schulde, 32, outside a Mississauga gym in March 2019 was the result of internal strife.

“This is Hells Angels killing Hells Angels,” he said.

Police contend Deabauta-Schulde was a member of the same illegal gambling operation investigated in Operation Hobart that led to charges against Barletta. Three Montreal men are charged with first-degree murder in Deabauta-Schulde’s death.

The Hells Angels, the largest outlaw motorcycle gang in the world, is rife with worry and division, Lavigne said.

“Everyone is concerned that someone else is a rat so they’re all looking over their shoulders. There is no trust. There is no brotherhood,” he said.

“There seems to be no one with absolute control who can sit down and say, ‘Hey let’s stop this stuff.’ There’s no one they can go to and say, ‘Can you fix this problem for us, we’ve got some friction here?’ People are operating on their own and they’re making mistakes.”

The Thornbury residence was worth about $1 million, media reported at the time of the fire.

According to records from the Town of the Blue Mountains, a permit to demolish the cottage was issued Jan. 15, 2018, at an estimated cost of $100,000. An application to build a new house, garage, patio and pool reached municipal council in November 2019.

A FirstOnSite remediation worker boards up a window of a home at 203 Commissioners Rd. E. gutted late last week in a $1-million fire deemed suspicious by police. The home had earlier been searched as part of a police crackdown on an alleged Hells Angels-linked gambling ring. (Mike Hensen/The London Free Press)
As many as 20 London police worked on widespread gambling investigation
This house at 203 Commissioners Rd. E. was raided by police on Thursday as part of a series of raids on homes connected with the Hells Angels. (Mike Hensen/The London Free Press)
London woman linked to ex-Hells Angels leader faces gun, gambling charges

The property owner’s name is not attached to the application. Phone listings link the property to an M. Barletta. It’s not known if that refers to Michelle Barletta, Rob’s wife. Property records show it belongs to Salvatrice Barletta.

An obituary for Domenico Barletta, published in 2018, lists his wife as Salvatricia and his children as Vince and Rob. Vince Barletta, who is not a Hells Angels member past or present, is Rob Barletta’s brother. The rest of the family listed in the notice also match Rob Barletta’s relatives.

The arson investigations are only part of the puzzle surrounding Operation Hobart and Barletta.

Police also worked with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to lay tax evasion charges against Barletta and Craig McIlquham, 49, both alleged to be full-patch members of the Hells Angels.

“Our investigation has demonstrated a consistent history of non-compliance for these two guys with Canadian tax laws,” said Stephane Bonin of the CRA’s criminal investigations division.

The CRA joined the OPP-led investigation in October 2018, Bonin said. “We are now playing a bigger role than we used to in pursuing tax evasion, money laundering and financial crime in general.”

Court documents show Barletta is accused of failing to paying taxes of $227,643 on a taxable income of $771,335 between 2015 and 2018.

“All income is taxable, including income or revenue generated from illegal activities,” Bonin said.

Police allege the gambling operation used five different websites that made $131 million in illegal revenues over five years, including $13 million from Jan. 1 to the beginning of July, police allege.

dcarr...@postmedia.com

rric...@postmedia.com

https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/london-woman-linked-to-ex-hells-angels-leader-faces-gun-gambling-charges Robert Barletta has obviously gone downhill over the years. Nicknamed the Teflon Biker until 2019 he had no criminal convictions. The Ont. govt got his strip club liquor license taken away because he was a Hell's Angel. Why does the BC govt not do that with Shakerz in Whalley and the No.5 Orange on Main St. owned by two HA dudes and of course Brandis at 555 Hornby run by Gino Zupano a HA club president for years?

Shakers Show Lounge
10458 Whalley Blvd.
Surrey, BC

p | 604.581.2202
e | shaker...@gmail.com